Rainforests of the World (Grades 4 - 8)
Explore the tropical rainforests of Borneo, Madagascar, Costa Rica, and the Amazon!
Bring the rainforest to life in your classroom! Give your students hands-on experiences that will build their understanding of the importance of tropical rainforests and the need for protecting these valuable ecosystems. Explore topics including the water cycle in the Amazon, the life cycle of rainforest plants, rainforest conservation challenges, and more.
You can use this kit to prepare your students for a field trip to the Academy's Rainforest Exhibit. Or, if you can't make it to the Academy, use the kit on its own to bring the rainforest to you! This version of the rainforest kit is for grades 4 - 8.
Materials
- curriculum binder
- rainforest poster
- 10 rainforest products
- 8 sets of the "Conservation Island" game
- props for the "Rainforest Water Cycle" role play
- 8 sets of the "Mission Unpredictable" game
- Books: "rainforest" by Thomas Marent; "Rainforest Researchers", "Partners and Rivals", "Native Peoples", "Surviving in the Rainforest", "River Life", and "Layers of Life" by James L. Castner; "The Most Beautiful Roof in the World" by Kathryn Lasky
- DVDs: "Planet Earth" and "World's Last Great Places: Rainforest"
Activities
Discovering Rainforest Locations: Practice reading and interpreting world maps as you learn the locations of tropical rainforests and the connections between living and non-living components of an ecosystem.
Amazon Water Cycle Role-play: Explore the various processes of the water cycle in a creative role-play activity.
Mission Unpredictable--Plant Lifecycle: Learn about the relationships between plants, pollinators, and seed dispersers in this competitive card game.
Build a Borneo Glider!: Discover the gliding inhabitants of the Borneo rainforest and learn the basic forces of flight as you construct and experiment with your own paper glider.
Rainforest Products: Learn about products we use every day that originate in the rainforest and identify the parts of the plants used to make the products.
Conservation Island: Learn about the concepts of endangered and extinct species and explore the complex issues of conservation as you create your own conservation plan to protect three endangered animals sharing an island with human communities.
